10 Things Employers Should Know about Staying Ahead in the Game

The game has changed, and any company in any industry today can be disrupted by new competition, business models or even technologies. For tips on how to future-proof your business, read on.

Business opportunities abound as Singapore remains attractive to investors

Singapore is known for its stable economy, business connectivity and strong workforce. In 2016, the Singapore Economic Development Board attracted about $9 billion in Fixed Asset Investments, $8 billion in total business spending and created 20,000 jobs. The outcomes will be reflected in the economy in the next three to four years.

Stay competitive by applying principles of business success

With disruptions happening across industries, you need to adjust the skills required for your organisation’s workforce. This can be done by transforming and raising productivity to stay relevant, producing higher quality products and services, and offering your clients flexibility and customisation without compromising on safety.

Be open to partnerships to explore new opportunities

Be open to new business players and models. For example, jump on the fintech bandwagon instead of avoiding it. Banks that used to be worried about fintech’s impact are now partnering aggregators or websites to harness technology to make it easier and more convenient for customers to apply for banking products on the go.

Evolve how you manage workforce operations

As more technology is incorporated at the workplace, the way you manage your workforce will have to evolve as modes of interaction change. For example, companies have adopted Workplace by Facebook to simplify the communication process between groups, departments and colleagues. What will communication be like in the future?

Incorporate bespoke training for your employees

New skills are constantly needed at the workplace. To shorten the development phase of learning new skills for your workforce, the Labour Movement is looking to work with companies to design timely bespoke training to upskill their workers. Check out U Leap Enterprise (if you have not) to find out how you can design customised, bite-size mobile training modules for your workers!

Shifting of mentality towards hiring mature workers

Be more receptive to jobseekers who are in their 40 to 50s. With an ageing population and longer life expectancy, a jobseeker in this age group will still have a good 10 to 20 years to contribute at the workplace. They also bring a wealth of experience and are often good mentors for the younger generation of workers.

Participate in collaborative action with stakeholders

Employers need to be open to collaborating with all industry stakeholders, particularly through deepened and better coordination between tripartite partners to take on the challenges and opportunities of the future. It will accommodate the implementation of the discussed action plans, which will help your company become more competitive and your workers upskill to take on higher value-added jobs.

Capitalise on government grants and schemes…

You may or may not know this but there are many grants and schemes available for companies, which are especially useful for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This is why the Labour Movement is working with SMEs and their HR practitioners to help raise awareness of these programmes. Do yourself a favour and keep updated with U SME!

…But don’t rely on grants to succeed

Having talked about grants, we suggest that you don’t depend solely on grants to succeed but on sustainable models and plans. Where a grant is available to your business, it should be viewed as a bonus rather than as a predictor of success of the business model or plan.

Digitalisation – the SME Challenge

SME owners, you’ve been warned: Embrace digitalisation or be left behind. If you don’t know where to start because you require unique or niche solutions for your business, the Labour Movement is exploring various models to guide you in reworking your processes and catalyse change towards the digital journey.